NEW YORK  Even with the scenes of Enron's Jeffrey Skilling under arrest last week, one image remains indelible from the corporate scandals of the past two years: John Rigas, the elderly, white-haired founder of Adelphia Communications, led away in handcuffs and forced to do the "perp walk" on national TV.

Adelphia's John Rigas arrives at a Manhattan court in July.

By Robert Mecea, AP

Starting Monday, Rigas, 79, two of his sons, Timothy and Michael, and former Adelphia executive Michael Mulcahey get their day in court. Jury selection begins in a criminal trial that will be presided over by tough U.S. District Judge Leonard Sand, who sent four Al Qaeda associates to prison for life; defense attorney Peter Fleming's clients have included boxing promoter Don King.

Corporate scandals are now staples of front-page news as shareholders demand accountability for billions of dollars lost. Still, the U.S. government says the Rigases' case is one of the worst ever of financial fraud.

A 23-count indictment alleges the Rigases, with the help of Mulcahey and former executive James R. Brown, hid $2.3 billion in debts and treated the company as their personal "piggy bank," buying stock and perks ranging from a private jet to a golf course.

The Rigases and Mulcahey pleaded not guilty. Brown pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy in late 2002 and agreed to cooperate with authorities. Jury selection is expected to take up most of this week. Opening arguments are likely to begin about March 1. The trial could take up to four months.

With the scandal erupting around them, Rigas and his sons resigned in May 2002. Adelphia, the nation's fifth-largest cable operator, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a month later. That filing has spawned more than 50 lawsuits and 17,000 claims.

In pretrial arguments on Thursday, U.S. Attorney Christopher Clark promised to prove his case with a variety of documents and electronic displays. A key point of contention: more than $2 billion in Adelphia-guaranteed loans to the Rigases.

Defense attorneys are expected to argue that the Rigases are small-town businessmen from Coudersport, Pa., whose so-called schemes were deemed OK by an army of lawyers, bankers and accountants. Lawrence McMichael, an attorney at Dilworth Paxson in Philadelphia, representing the family in civil trials, still wonders why the government needed to publicly arrest the Rigases at 6 a.m. rather than let them turn themselves in. "These people are not violent criminals. They don't go around carrying guns or hiding in shadows. They're business people."

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber recently ruled that Adelphia must pay $12.8 million to help the Rigases with criminal and civil defenses. The defendants previously received $15 million.

Adelphia is trying to create as much space as possible between itself and the family. The company brought in all-new management, relocated to a suburb of Denver and says it hopes to emerge from bankruptcy court this summer. It also may jettison the Adelphia name to complete the makeover. Says President Ron Cooper: "We're communicating that it's not the company on trial, it's former executives who are no longer part of the company."